Leading the way to parity in politics

Most decision-makers in governments, parliaments and local councils are still men. The disparity not only denies women the right to participate and lead, but also means lawmaking often overlooks their experiences and needs. To close the gap, UN Women backs legislative and constitutional reform, and helps women gain traction through electoral processes, among other measures. Empowering gender equality advocates equips them to unleash change.

Parliaments

Turkey's June 2015 elections brought encouraging news as women took nearly 18 per cent of parliamentary seats, up from just over 14 per cent. While this remains far below parity or even the global average, it signals the stirrings of change beginning within the soaring white marble walls of the Grand National Assembly.

Even before the elections, drawing on UN Women assistance, in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Assembly had begun systematically tackling some of the issues that have kept women mostly on the margins of political debate. The shift started with the Committee on Equal Opportunity for Women and Men conducting a gender self-assessment of the Assembly, only the fifth such exercise in the world.

Evidence of gender gaps led to new awareness and action. More women now serve on parliamentary bodies, including the powerful Committee on Planning and Budgeting. Greater gender responsiveness became a plank in the Assembly's institutional strategy. Turkey's first comprehensive gender review of fundamental legislation put proposals on the table to usher in changes in laws related to local administration, education and employment, among other areas.

For the legislative experts who support parliamentary committees, gender equality training now helps them look for gender dimensions in draft legislation, whether the subject is energy or industry, social services or the environment. A gender checklist makes this step a matter of routine.

"We see laws in an entirely new way," affirms one expert. "We know that all issues relate to gender equality, and that all laws can contribute in some way to advancing it. This knowledge will help us in everything we do."

Elections

Gender imbalances in political representation can sometimes be dramatically redressed during election processes. In Bolivia, engagement with the electoral tribunal and UN partners to advocate for political parties to comply with new regulations on gender parity led to spectacular results in the 2014 elections. Bolivia became the third country in the world to reach political parity in its lower house, with women Parliamentarians at just under 51 per cent. Previously, women comprised less than 30 per cent.

Elections in Guinea Bissau in 2014 offered the chance to consolidate fragile stability in the wake of earlier political violence. UN Women helped ensure the process also boosted the number of women involved, coordinating closely with the Peace Building Fund, the UN Integrated Peace-Building Office, UNDP and women's activists. For the first time in the country, several hundred women were trained as election monitors; over 4,000 benefited from civic education. Fifty women candidates honed their skills in running for office. When the poll was held, the percentage of women voting topped a record 80 per cent. This visibility combined with advocacy for gender equality among top political leaders led to the historic appointment of women to a third of posts in the new government, among the highest ratios in Africa.

The Pacific region is notable for having some of the world's lowest levels of women in parliament, but that is beginning to change, supported by UN Women's longstanding advocacy and training of women candidates. In the Solomon Islands, a record number of women ran for parliament in 2014, and while only one was elected, she became the second to ever win in a general election. Women candidates garnered double the number of votes they had received in the previous election. Fiji elected 8 women to its 50-member Parliament, one of whom went on to become the first woman speaker of the house in the Pacific region.

Call to action signed at the high-level event on "Women in power and decision-making: Building a different world"Santiago, Chile, 27-28 February 2015

Leadership

In more than 60 countries in 2014, UN Women backed measures to promote women's leadership and participation in politics, including by strengthening a cadre of aspiring women leaders. Under our Beijing+20 campaign, we partnered with the Government of Chile to bring 300 women leaders to Santiago, including heads of state, ministers, parliamentarians, senior UN officials, Nobel laureates, business representatives and activists, all drawn by their commitment to rapidly increase the number of women in places making major decisions. With political leadership key to propelling progress across the Beijing Platform of Action, they signed a Call to Action to rev up political actions behind full implementation by 2030, including by ending gaps in funding for gender equality.

Across East Africa, UN Women is helping women become more effective leaders in both public and private spheres. A partnership with Kenya's Kenyatta University led to the establishment of the African Centre for Transformative and Inclusive Leadership, which has a special focus on women and youth; by the end of 2014, over 300 people had attended courses. Several participants from Ethiopia returned home to set up a mentorship programme for women leaders in several ministries, while in Somalia 28 women parliamentarians acquired knowledge and skills that helped them establish a women's parliamentary caucus.

“Concentrate on your work and do it to the fullest. Be confident. The patriarchal society will oppose every action. (But) once you achieve success, everyone will start appreciating your efforts.”

Women of achievement

Vandana Baharu Maida: A woman's place is on the village council

Few in her sleepy village would have once imagined that mother and home-maker Vandana Baharu Maida would be planning roads and building schools today. But in Khankhandvi, India, Maida bucked family opposition and cultural norms to win election as the first woman head of her village council.

India's quotas for local political offices have spurred one of the greatest successes globally for women's empowerment and grass-roots democracy. Just a decade ago, women comprised less than 5 per cent of leaders elected to village councils. Today, they make up over 40 per cent.

Articulate and determined, Vandana aims at nothing less than a better life for her community. Using vital leadership skills developed through training by UN Women, she has mobilized her council to build new sanitation systems, a village pond to counter chronic water shortages and the village's first primary school. But she considers her greatest achievement is inspiring her neighbours to regularly participate in the council and demand that it respond to their concerns.